Alcohol-assisted synthesis of framework Ti-rich TS-1 zeolites for the epoxidation of 1-hexene

Abstract

Titanosilicate-1 (TS-1) has garnered widespread interest on account of its distinctive catalytic properties for the efficient oxidation of long-chain linear α-olefins (LAOs) into industrially useful epoxides. In TS-1, the active framework Ti is limited, while the inactive anatase leads to the hampering of catalytic activity. Herein, the effect of different alcohols on Ti species in TS-1 was investigated. It was demonstrated that a suitable content of alcohols may lead to the generation of TS-1 zeolites that are abundant in framework Ti species. The 1-hexene conversion in the epoxidation reaction with H₂O₂ was significantly improved compared with conventional TS-1. Among the different alcohol additives, ethylene glycol was the most beneficial for the formation of more framework Ti species, on which 1-hexene conversion increased from 46% to 67% and the selectivity towards 1,2-epoxyhexane remained at a relatively high level.